Wednesday, January 27, 2010

(UPI) -- A Polish funeral director said he opened the coffin of a 76-year-old man to retrieve items for the bereaved family only to discover the man was still alive.

Jerzy Wisniewski, a spokesman for the Regional Ambulance Service in Katowice, said beekeeper Josef Guzy collapsed near his barn and was pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor, The Times of London reported Tuesday.

"There were no signs of life when his wife called the ambulance. An experienced doctor with a specialist qualification in resuscitation found that the patient was not breathing, there was no heartbeat and the body had cooled -- all the characteristics of death," Wisniewski said.

However, funeral director Darius Wysluchato said he opened Guzy's coffin later that day to retrieve a necklace for the man's wife and discovered a pulse.

"I happened to touch the artery in the neck and was totally shocked. I checked it again and shouted, 'There is a pulse.' My assistant checked as well. I leaned in close and I could tell that he was still breathing. My God, it was a miracle," Wysluchato said.

Guzy was rushed to intensive care and was released from the hospital after a few weeks of treatment. He said he is grateful to Wysluchato for finding his signs of life.

"The undertaker saved my life. I am so grateful. The first thing I did when I got out of hospital was take him a pot of honey," he said.